My CFGdegree experience as an education-only learner (CFG Scholar)
CFG Ambassador Erin shares her experience studying the CFGdegree as an education-only opportunity, and how she navigated jobhunting after graduating
💻 Code First Girls Ambassador Erin Byrne shares how the Data & SQL Coding Kickstarter and Software CFGdegree allowed her to pursue a tech career with no prior coding experience. As a CFG Scholar, Erin reveals the support she received from the CFGdegree team, and the jobhunting and interview tips that allowed her to land her Technology Audit Graduate role in KPMG London upon completion of the CFGdegree. She also shared her time management tips for balancing applying to the CFGdegree and completing the Coding Kickstarter course alongside her University degree and part-time job.
To learn more about Erin’s journey and experience with CFG, feel free to follow her Instagram!
THE HOT SIX QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS!
Favourite coding language? (if you have one!)
SQL
What is your choice of beverage for coding?
Coffee (or water if it is giving me a headache)
What is your favourite flower?
My favourite flower has to be the cliché red rose. They remind me of rom-coms and Beauty and the Beast.
What is your comfort food?
Since my trip to SE Asia, I have been obsessed with the Thai dish ‘Pad Kra Pao’ or ‘Basil Pork’, as spicy as possible!
What is your favourite season?
I love autumn and watching the leaves change colour, feeling the spirit of halloween and being able to get cosy and read a book.
What do you listen to whilst you code and where? Spotify, radio, vinyl or fave CD?
In my headphones, classical music/relaxing piano music to keep me in the zone.
👋 Hi Erin! Please give a brief intro about who you are, your tech experience, what you do professionally, and why you want to become a CFG Ambassador.
I am Erin, I am 22, and I am a CFG Ambassador. I love being a CFG Ambassador and part of the community as it encourages me to celebrate my successes and the successes of other women and non-binary people. Being a CFG Ambassador and part of the CFG community more broadly has given me such a strong sense of community and collaboration, which in turn has given me a platform to share my experiences, be supported and offer support to those looking to make their way into tech.
In August 2023, I graduated from the University of Bristol with an English degree. I also completed the Software CFGdegree from May to September of 2023 and I spent the first part of this year travelling in Southeast Asia, serving as a fantastic conclusion to a series of my well-sought-after dreams coming true.
I am currently an Incoming Technology Audit Graduate, ready to embark on the start of my career this September.
📚 You studied English Literature at University! What inspired you to pursue a career in tech?
Studying English was something that I always had my heart set on and so upon completion of my degree, it was certainly a surprise to many of my family and friends when I decided to change course and dive into the world of tech. During the third year of my English degree, I took the plunge and signed up to complete the Data and SQL Coding Kickstarter Class with Code First Girls.
I decided to sign up as I had found myself in a bit of a slump with my general University degree, and as someone who has always enjoyed learning, I was in search of something that would reignite my passion for learning. I was completely enthralled with this completely new world of learning which opened up a realm of opportunities that until now seemed completely inaccessible to me.
I discovered that not only were there so many opportunities for continuous and buildable learning, but there was also a fantastic community of like-minded people who wanted to take a chance on themselves and invest in themselves through furthering their education.
“My interview, and subsequent rejection from ClearBank, was a great part of my journey into tech and a necessity to test firstly, how much I was willing to keep working towards this new career step and secondly, it sent me in the direction I was supposed to go.”
⛰️ Did you encounter any initial challenges or uncertainties whilst deciding to pursue a career in tech? How did you overcome them?
Like trying anything new, there may always be a voice in the back of your head that tells you that you cannot achieve your goals, and this sense of “imposter syndrome” was no different when I decided that I wanted to learn more about technology. It is incredibly daunting signing up for something completely new with no foundational knowledge, particularly in an environment dominated by men.
However, CFG has fostered an environment of inclusivity which has made the transition into tech more, inviting but also so much more accessible, as the free resources which they provide are unparalleled. The lack of resources can be a huge challenge which I personally would not have been able to overcome without the sponsorship from Code First Girls.
The team at CFG and the people who I have met through doing the Coding Kickstarter course, CFGdegree, and other Ambassadors have all made me feel that I deserve to take time and invest in myself through upskilling myself and opening up more career opportunities.
🎓 Congratulations on completing the Summer ‘23 Software CFGdegree! Could you share what drew you to apply to this specific specialisation?
I was instantly drawn to software engineering as, in my opinion, I felt that the breadth of opportunities available across different industries was broader. Upon the completion of the degree, I feel that the skills that I learned have made me a much more employable candidate such as improving my analytical skills, public speaking skills, teamwork, independent research, and critical thinking abilities.
Software engineering involves creating and building new software products and systems, which can involve creativity and innovation. As someone who enjoys the design aspect and the creation of a new idea, I felt that the Software stream offered the most opportunity for me. The Software stream offered a solid foundation in many coding languages which I think can also be applied to streams such as Data Engineering.
I love problem-solving and found that software stream was a great way of incorporating this as I was able to tackle intricate problems and develop practical solutions throughout our lessons.
📖 Could you share your overall experiences studying CFGdegree?
Throughout my experience completing the CFGdegree, I had the most amazing experience. I joined a fantastic community and helped to build up our own community within the cohort, creating amazing and supportive friendships and great relationships with mentors and instructors who continue to offer support with technology and more general life advice.
CFG has nourished their community so much, and much of what we did during my time on the CFGdegree was community-driven. At first, I was so nervous about speaking up in our lessons as I felt that I would be holding up the rest of the class, asking questions that would make me look stupid, but I soon realised that everyone was very supportive and willing to help each other out. The people in my class who asked the most questions were the ones who really enabled our group to flourish and succeed in our degree.
By the end of the CFGdegree, I had realised the importance of asking for help and sharing ideas so much that I even felt able to present code to the group on some occasions – a far cry from the person I started as who was desperate to take up as little space as possible. The CFGdegree taught me many things about Software and much more through independent learning. It also really gave me such a strong sense of confidence in my ideas and helped me to develop my public speaking abilities.
I was also part of a group that designed, coded, and tested for our final project which was a necessary assessment for the completion of the degree. This was something that really displayed the progression of our skills as the project relied on independent work and research that we had to create with very little help or guidance from our instructors.
“The team at CFG and the people who I have met through doing the Coding Kickstarter course, CFGdegree, and other Ambassadors have all made me feel that I deserve to take time and invest in myself through upskilling myself and opening up more career opportunities.”
⚖️ How did you balance completing the Coding Kickstarter and applying to the CFGdegree alongside your university degree?
Applying for the CFGdegree was a rather difficult process with many levels to make go through in order to be accepted onto the course. This was rather time-consuming as I wanted to make sure my application was as strong as possible, particularly with it being a rather competitive application process. The CFG team gave lots of notice in advance as I was invited to complete the next steps of the application, which meant I had plenty of time to write some of the preparation I had to use into my weekly planner.
1. Doing a little bit of prep every day if you feel really stretched for time. Using spare time to jot down ideas about your strengths and why you want to complete the degree can also be less daunting than sitting down and thinking of a big list of things at once. This made the workload feel a lot more manageable and made me feel like I was getting lots of work done in time I would have otherwise spent procrastinating. Doing this also helped me to think of more creative strengths about myself, rather than stretching my brain to answer all possible interview questions in one sitting.
2. Regardless whether the opportunity has a job or not, set at least a couple of hours aside in a week for doing thorough research into the company. This is important to do, as they may want to meet you. If you are applying to a job-sponsored opportunity, ensure that you fit this in before your interview coaching so that you can get an accurate representation of how the interview may be.
Organising my time and balancing it between my university degree, my SQL course, my part-time job, and generally having time to myself was incredibly challenging. I had to plan out all of my time. This included thinking deeply about when I would have time to complete one assignment to the next and making sure I was able to have my dinner whilst I was on the call for my lessons- I am pretty sure lots of the other people were doing the same. Even though there was definitely a time crunch, I find that I am able to be more productive when I have lots to do and particularly in this situation, I was very determined to give myself the time to do something I really wanted to do.
I was aware of how fantastic the opportunities were and I made myself more efficient with my time in order to fully grasp this opportunity. I made sure that all of the time I was dedicating towards studying was actually being used productively i.e. being in a silent study area to get the most effective work done, whether it was for my uni degree or for the course. I also found that effective communication with the people around me and the people in my group project was necessary for the successful completion of the project and for making sure that everyone in my group felt comfortable with what we had to do – this made sure we encountered fewer setbacks.
“By the end of the CFGdegree, I had realised the importance of asking for help and sharing ideas so much that I even felt able to present code to the group on some occasions – a far cry from the person I started as who was desperate to take up as little space as possible.”
🌸 We appreciate places for our sponsored companies are competitive, can you share how CFG supported you with your next steps to becoming a CFG scholar?
My experience being a CFG scholar could not have been better or more supported by the CFG team from the beginning of my CFGdegree journey, right up until now as they continue to post opportunities to the CFG-sponsored slack channel.
I had initially applied for a job through ClearBank (who had partnered with Code First Girls), and although I wasn’t the right fit for their company, they kindly passed on feedback to the CFG team and suggested for me to be taken on as a CFG-sponsored candidate. When I first got offered my CFG-sponsored place, I was in email correspondence with a lovely CFG representative who immediately made me feel so welcomed and valued. During my CFGdegree process, I was offered an interview coaching session (when initially preparing for her interview with ClearBank)with a CFG team member which I accepted and I am so grateful for that session as it greatly calmed my nerves. My interview coach talked me through quite a few questions that I was likely to be asked and even coached me on questions I should bring to the table to make me stand out as a candidate. I think the coaching session alone really highlighted how much the CFG team want to build up the people in their community and help them to succeed. Although my interview was not successful for my chosen company, I don’t believe I would have had the confidence to make it as far as I did without the support of CFG.
The communication throughout was great, we were given many opportunities to give feedback to the CFG team and let them know how we were finding the degree and how aspects may be improved which the team were very receptive to. I also received many emails with job interview offers during my degree and upon completion of it. The team at CFG constantly made sure I was doing well, and felt that Ii was coping well with my work and also offered me great opportunities for interviews with other companies. They made sure the roles were to my liking and continued to email with support and advice for job applications.
Having previously been the person briefing requirements to development teams, I’m also able to better understand the client’s point and view and consider software from their perspective.
I’ve also used my marketing skills to promote myself and network. I’ve just written a blog post for a Learning at Work Week campaign on our company intranet about my experiences as a lifelong learner. I also have a coding Instagram account where I document my career-switching journey – I posted my first reel a few weeks ago following a CFG client breakfast! This all of course comes in handy in my role promoting CFG as an Ambassador too!
“Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed to ask questions! Asking questions is what took my learning to the next level and enabled me to finally dig deeper into concepts in half of the time that I had previously.”
🔍 Congratulations on your acceptance into KPMG’s London Technology Audit Graduate Programme! Could you share some key tips and insights into your job-hunting process after the CFGdegree?
Fresh out of university and in pursuit of my first full-time job, I felt quite daunted by the experience but I quickly realised that many of the people I was going up against were in the same position as me. I think my key tips for job hunting are to be persistent, setbacks are more than likely to happen and rejection will be hard at first but make sure you don’t lose sight of your self worth.
On those lines – remember to sell yourself to the employer, don’t be arrogant or cocky but remember that the interviewer is spending their time on you as a candidate, so you must be there for a reason. Particularly on completion of my uni degree and the CFGdegree I made sure to really sell these experiences to the interviewer and make sure they knew how many skills I had developed throughout these two major academic achievements. When applying for jobs that weren’t connected to the CFG degree, I had to briefly explain what the CFGdegree was. In order to do this succinctly, I explained the main aspects of the degree and the benefits that I was able to take from it that would make me more employable and enable the employer to understand the value fo the CFGdegree.
For example, I explained the time commitment, so that the company was aware of the dedication I put into the course and the application process. This is so that the company was aware of how hard I worked to get a place on the course, the core values of CFG, knowing how valuable and few and far between that women in tech are, and how CFG offers courses to get more women and non-binary people into technology. This enabled me to highlight myself as a candidate with a background in tech.
Lastly, I made sure to reel off the content of the degree, highlighting how much I learned in such a short time from the various languages we coded in, to the different ways in which we were assessed to demonstrate the competencies covered such as teamwork, different skills in coding, analysis and creating and presenting group projects.
Make sure that you feel excited about the company and the job description and know your stuff. Knowing facts and figures about the company and job description particularly with regards to company values and how you perform those values in your everyday life is so important. It shows to the employer that you have done your research and put time and effort into the interview/application process. It also makes you as a candidate certain that this is a job you are willing to put in the work for.
“I made sure to reel off the content of the degree, highlighting how much I learned in such a short time from the various languages we coded in, to the different ways in which we were assessed to demonstrate the competencies covered such as teamwork, different skills in coding, analysis and creating and presenting group projects.”
💡 What advice would you give to others who would like to transition into tech?
To others looking to transition into tech, don’t let your anxieties or imposter syndrome hold you back. It is hard to make a big jump, but even doing a short MOOC course can help shape your future career. CFG offers the incredible opportunity of learning to code and making the transition into tech, removing financial barriers by having their content sponsored by bigger companies and making the tech space a more inclusive one.
My interview, and subsequent rejection from ClearBank, was a great part of my journey into tech and a necessity to test firstly, how much I was willing to keep working towards this new career step and secondly, it sent me in the direction I was supposed to go, as soon I will be integrating technology into my career in a slightly different way than Software Engineering.
The first step is definitely the hardest, but if you are thinking of applying, set aside an hour or so for yourself and get the application done. Invest in your own future happiness and success. Don’t be put off by rejections, take them as redirections and don’t feel like all is lost as learning from each step of the process will help you to improve.
My final tip would be one I wish I had heard, which is: don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed to ask questions! Asking questions is what took my learning to the next level and enabled me to finally dig deeper into concepts in half of the time that I had previously. You are likely to have hundreds of questions, especially going into a completely new space and unsurprisingly, so will almost everyone else! You aren’t alone and asking for help just makes you improve.
